Goji Berries (Organic, Raw)

With a potent combination of protein and super-nutrients (and a long history as a traditional Chinese longevity food) it’s no wonder these tasty little morsels have become the world’s most popular super berry.

Toss a handful in your mouth, in your smoothie, or in your cookie batter, and you'll be getting a mega-dose of cell-protecting antioxidants, essential vitamins and trace minerals, including vital selenium. They're also loaded with heart-healthy phytosterols and eye-friendly carotenoids.

Need some quick, tasty protein? Gojis are loaded with 18 amino acids, while also providing a balance of fast and slow-acting carbs for energy, and fiber for happy digestion.

Not only are these gojis certified Organic, unlike many gojis in the US, they come direct from the source and undergo extensive lab testing for purity, earning highest purity scores for heavy metals (details below).

More Details

Source & Process

Pure, RAW, sustainable & pesticide-free

Essential Living Foods is one of the oldest and largest importers of goji berries in the US, with over a decade of experience interfacing with suppliers, farmers, and certifiers in China. Not only are these goji berries certified Organic, unlike many gojis in the US, they comes direct from the source and undergo extensive lab testing for purity.

raw organic goji berries

One of the only Certified Organic gojis available

Our berries are grown exclusively in the mineral-rich soil of a pristine Chinese valley, whose alluvial soils have been nourished by millennia of spring floods from the Yellow River. Farming is an ancient traditional lifestyle here, and multiple generations of families come together cooperatively to tend and harvest exquisite goji berries (and share in the profits of this growing industry). Our farming partners take pride in producing an exceptionally high-quality product.

Timing of the harvest is important, as nutrient and flavor profiles will be off if picked too early or left on the bush too long. Entire villages come together to accelerate the harvest process, where each delicate berry is picked by hand.

The berries are collected in buckets and plastic bins, covered to prevent contamination or solar "burns," and trucked a short distance to a western-standard HACCP/GMP facility where they are washed in a water bath before undergoing controlled dehydration at RAW temperatures (under 105°F) to achieve the right balance of dehydration without losing their chewy texture.

Certified USDA Organic Goji Berries

Unlike many others on the market, our goji berries are actually USDA Certified Organic (as opposed to the Chinese "Green Seal" certification used by many other operations). Most goji suppliers buy from large aggregators with no traceable supply chain increasing the chances of contamination or poor quality. Only ELF provides direct, traceable sourcing from a single cooperative of small farmers.While the goji berry has exploded in popularity, the rush to fill this demand has led to a reckless lack of oversight among goji producers, importers, and distributors. We were one of the first companies in the US to test competing "organic" gojis for traces of pesticides — discovering, among other things, that many were contaminated with high levels of sulfites (which have been known to aggravate symptoms of asthma in sensitive persons).

certified organic goji farm

sustainable goji berries

Keeping it clean

While many of the traditional goji farms in China lay the berries out on mats in the fields to sun-dry, this can lead to a variety of problems with contamination from mold, rot, and waste from passing birds and animals. Our berries are hand-picked at the peak of ripeness and quickly moved to a pristine, certified organic facility where they are washed and dried at RAW temperatures.

The Ripple Effect

You are powerful

Sustainably harvested fair practice raw organic goji berries can be your vote for a better world. Across the planet, we seek the finest superfoods and pay a premium for the exceptional craftsmanship of small farmers, cooperatives, and indigenous communities. We also give back 1% to local non-profits like Amazon Watch, who protect the land and the communities who depend on it.

Every Product has an origin

and an impact

You stand at the finish line of an amazing journey with a miraculous beginning: Soil, Water, Sunshine...and Seed. With care and craftsmanship, Life unfolds, blossoms, and thrives. No chemicals needed. Just skill, hard work, and love for the land.

Every point on this map is a place that you touch. A farm. A community. An economy. An ecosystem.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

In China, the Goji Berry is known as a longevity food that replenishes vital essences and increases the “chi” or life energy in those that eat them. Goji Berries have been used in traditional Asian medicine for millennia, with mentions of this extraordinary berry in medical texts as old as 5,000 years.

Ancient Chinese medical texts praised Goji Berries as tonic support for the eyes, liver, and kidneys. More than anything, they are believe to increase the “chi” or life energy in those that eat them. An early medical work, Shen Nung Ben Tsao (475-221 B.C.), observed Goji Berry benefits ranging from replenishing vital essences to strengthening and restoring major organs. The physician’s handbook, Ben Cao Gang Mu, recorded during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) writes, “taking in Chinese Wolfberry/Goji Berry regularly may regulate the flow of vital energy and strengthen the physique, which can lead to longevity.”

Overall Nutrition

Modern science has verified this ancient wisdom, revealing a diversity of powerful phytochemicals and essential nutrients, many of which are still being investigated for a wide range of potential health benefits.

Goji berries are loaded with 18 amino acids, including all 8 essential aminos (such as isoleucine and tryptophan). Plus, Goji berries contain over 20 trace minerals — the most important being zinc, iron, copper, calcium, phosphorus, and selenium. Selenium is under investigation for its potent protective effects, and it is estimated that much of the US food supply is deficient in selenium.

Goji berries are one of the richest source of carotenoids — with twice as much beta carotene as carrots. Gojis also provide at least as much vitamin C, by weight, as oranges, and also provide impressive amounts of vitamins B1, B2, and B6.

Antioxidant Carotenoids

Goji berries, with their deep rich, red color, are a potent source of carotenoids, the antioxidants we associate most with carrots. The old folk wisdom about eyesight and carrots is well-founded, as carotenoids have been demonstrated to assist in protecting the retina from the oxidative damage of ultra violet light and aging.

Goji berries contain a variety of carotenoids, including Beta-carotene, Zeaxanthin, Lutein, Lycopene, and Crytoxanthin. Just 28 grams of goji berries provides 140% RDA of Vitamin A, and as much as 77% of that can be zeaxanthin, a particularly important carotenoid for eyesight health and longevity.Increasing zeaxanthin and lutein may help to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness after 65.

Other Phytochemicals

Goji berries also provide Beta Sitosterol, a plant sterol which can help to lower cholesterol levels by blocking the absorption of cholesterol during digestion. Beta Sitosterol is also being investigated as a potentially anti-inflammatory nutrient important for supporting men's health.

Polysaccharides and Carbohydrates

Polysaccharides are another term for carbohydrates. Polysaccharides encompass everything from fast-digesting sugars and slow-digesting starches to indigestible fiber. We are all aware of the health benefits of fiber for digestive balance as well as cardiovascular health and potential anticancer effects. Gojis provide a balance of all three, fast-acting and sustainable carbs for energy, as well as fiber for healthy digestion.

A Note on Sulfites

Sulfite-sensitive individuals often need to eliminate sources of sulfites from their diets in order to improve their symptoms or even to determine how sensitive they actually are. This can be hard without clear information, since there are many dietary sources of sulfites that go unlabeled.

By law, sulfites can not be added to organic certified products. (This is why red wines often say "Made with Organic Grapes" instead of "Organic Wine," since most winemakers choose to add sulfites to the wine even if they don't apply it in their fields. Any sulfites over 10ppm require the label "Contains Sulfites.")

Many foods have naturally-occurring sulfites which do not disqualify the final product from organic certification.

Our organic certified, direct-from-the-source gojis are continually lab tested for purity, and consistently test at less than 15ppm for sulfites. Although this miniscule amount of naturally occurring sulfites does not generally pose a problem for people, we believe in transparency and allowing our customers to make informed decisions about their health.

California Prop 65 Warning

For strictly legal reasons, this product is labeled with a scary-looking warning required by California’s Proposition 65. These products comply with all health and safety standards of the FDA, USDA Organic, and our various certification partners (Non-GMO, Gluten Free, and Kosher), and we personally trust and consume these products every day. However, like many berries, root vegetables, and chocolate products, this one contain trace quantities of naturally-occurring minerals in perfectly safe quantities. Nevertheless, we are required to label the package in order to sell product in California.

Please do not be alarmed by the warning sticker, and understand that a “Proposition 65 warning does not necessarily mean a product is in violation of any product-safety standards or requirements.” Prop 65 is impacting more and more suppliers and retailers (including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s) and soon these labels will be on many natural food products throughout California and across the country.

Delicious & Tasty

Goji Berry Recipes

Recipes

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